Believe
by Seiji and Shizuku 4ever
Summary: Sakura liked to believe she had given up all hope in him, even though she knew that wasn't necessarily true. If you still loved someone with all your heart, even though theirs was pure evil, that had to mean you still had hope in them, right? /SasuSaku/


**A/N: Omg, it can't be. My first SasuSaku? No wai! xDD As much as I love the couple (I've loved 'em from the very start x3), I never thought I'd be writing about them, because..well, they're pretty complicated characters to buckle down and write about, y'know? Anywhoozle, this is cowritten with Caraqueen, who is my sister in RL. At first we were just playing around with this idea, but we got more into it. I couldn't have done this without her, seriously. She helps me with most of my stories. xDD She came up with all of Sasuke's parts in this, and for that I'm verrry grateful. I could **_**not **_**have been able to nail him the way she did. [She thinks she's so bad at writing stories and getting character's..well, characters, down. But that couldn't be any more wrong: she's **_**amazing.**_**] **

**This is gonna be a long author's note... ok, so this takes place in late late Shippuden (after Sasuke kills Orochimaru and Itachi..etc). Caraqueen and I have been watching some of the episodes that aren't dubbed yet, and they ish aweshum. Srsly. xDD Ok, so Sakura goes to seek out Sasuke, right? Everyone else thinks it's so she can kill him. But when she gets there, she tells Sasuke that she wants to join him even if it meant destroying the Leaf. o: (Just like she did in the original, when he tried to leave!) Anyway, just goes to show that she does very much indeed still love Sasuke. x3 But of course then he tried to kill her and stuffs.. and Kakashi and Naruto came in to save her, yadda yadda yadda. SO. I'm not certain if this story takes place before or after that event, but somewhere in that arc, for sure. And I haven't been watching many of that arc, so I don't really know what fights and such have taken place, so this story is more or less AU. Let's just say everyone's in the middle of a big battle with each other. :D Can't go wrong there. xDD I took out a lot of my frustration for Sasuke in this story..x]**

**I got mucho inspiration from several songs while writing this..*clears throat and pulls out a list* x3 "When I'm Gone" by 3 Doors Down, "I Still Believe" by Hayden Panetierre, "Behind Blue Eyes" by Limp Bizkit, "Beautiful Disaster" by Kelly Clarkson, "Never Be the Same" by Red, "Whataya Want From Me" by Adam Lambert, "What's Left of Me" by Nick Lachey, "That's the Way It Is" by Celine Dion, and "Shattered" by Trading Yesterday. I have a feeling I'm forgetting one.. ah, anyhow, time for disclaimer. UCHIHA SASUKE, TAKE IT AWAY!**

**Sasuke: Tch. -.- Taylor doesn't own anything Naruto-relevant.. especially not me.**

**..There you have it. xDD Here we go! x3 Caraqueen and I hope you readers like it! We put a lot of effort into it, hope it paid off! **

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><p>Sakura liked to believe she had given up all hope in him, even though she knew that wasn't necessarily true. If you still loved someone with all your heart, even though theirs was pure evil, that had to mean you still had hope in them, right?<p>

She had told herself time and time again: if the opportunity arose, she would not hesitate to kill Sasuke Uchiha. But as that old saying went, easier said than done. All it had taken was one look at her rendered helpless, bleeding, gravely injured former teammate for her to do the exact opposite. Almost as if someone else was controlling her movements, Sakura picked him up, holding one arm of his around her shoulders, which were both no easy feats, and fled the battle.

She took him to a secluded part in the woods and with glowing green hands began to heal the wayward Uchiha.

"Don't touch me," he growled, but couldn't move, so he could in no way enforce his statement.

Sakura made no answer, inwardly stunned into silence at the sound of his familiar and yet simultaneously foreign voice. It had that effect on her every time she saw him now. She tried to appear indifferent as she moved her glowing hands over his body, but how could she pull the act when it had been her concern to take him away in the first place?

"I don't..need your help." Sasuke paused to cough up blood.

Sakura was unfazed. "That's the most ridiculous, untrue remark I've ever heard in my life. Swallow your pride," she responded sharply, finding her voice. She healed him enough so that he wasn't suffering but not to where he could attack or escape, her energy draining.

Sasuke was silent, but his eyes regarded her coldly. Her face tight, Sakura withdrew a rag from her pack and wiped all the blood off him. "I told myself I would kill you." _Maybe I still should.. _The thought pained her.

"Do it. There's no benefit." His voice was raspy and malicious.

Sakura watched him. "Besides ridding the world of one more evil, you're right. There isn't."

Sasuke coughed, glaring at her. "You wouldn't do it. You're spineless," he spat.

"Who's more spineless - the one who kills his own brother, or the one taking pity on an injured?" Sakura replied calmly, the curt crease in her brow adding a clipped tone to her words.

"This isn't merely pity. You can't let go of your love, no matter how far gone I am." The slightest hint of a smirk crossed his face. "Pathetic."

Sakura was silent for a moment, emerald eyes shimmering as she closed them briefly. They were full of fierceness when they opened. "You know what? Maybe you're right. But at least _I _actually care!" She held a hand to her heart, face darkening. "At least I still have _feelings,_ and _emotions! _At least I haven't turned into a cold, uncaring shell! A heart full of hatred!" Her voice rose louder with each proclamation.

Sasuke's eerie smile grew. "And that, Sakura, is your downfall."

"No, Sasuke, you couldn't be any more wrong. It's _your _downfall!" She pointed a finger at him, voice wavering just a bit as she added more quietly, "Can't you see that all revenge and power is doing is just hurting you?"

"You're wrong. I'm more powerful now than I've ever been." His eyes glinted.

Sakura surveyed him, searching his face for several moments, all the while hers growing hard. "..You know, Naruto has _never _given up on you. The Leaf, me included, might have all rendered you hopeless, but Naruto still has faith in you!" Unbidden tears came to her eyes and escaped. "What a shallow, petty thing to live for. _Power! _Aren't persistant friends who love you and are there for you worth so much more than shifty alliances, backstabbing cycles.. a pointless game of evil?"

"The only thing Naruto is good for is obtaining the Mangekyou Sharingan." His face hardened.

"But you didn't own up to that," Sakura pointed out. "And you say that was because you didn't want to gain power like your brother, but _I _know. I know that's not the only reason." She glared at Sasuke through her tears.

"That _is _the only reason." Sasuke glared back.

"You can't fool me," Sakura snapped, intensity in her convictions growing. "If you didn't care one little bit about Naruto, you would have killed him without hesitation, mangekyou or no mangekyou. Just like you have thousands of others."

She was met with an icy, indifferent mask. "You know nothing."

Looking at him, Sakura suddenly saw the old Sasuke, the one who at one point had backed her up in battle, the one who they had shared good times with as a squad. The one who was glaring indifferently off to the side in their squad picture. And she knew that she could never even attempt to kill him, even if her life depended on it. Her heart ached.

Sasuke had remained silent, looking at her as if she was no more important than a bug to be squashed for just being there.

"You know, the fact that you can't even conjure a halfway-decent comeback just ensures I hit a truthful nerve with you." _Or that you care.._

Sasuke's hand whipped out like lightning, almost too fast to register, and cracked against her cheek. Sakura's face jerked from the impact and tears stung her eyes, but oddly enough, she was smiling, borderline smirking. "That just proves my case further. You still care, Sasuke Uchiha!" Truimph laced her words.

"I can't be bothered by petty things like emotions." He brushed off the comment as he struggled to stand.

Sakura laughed a little. "That's what you _say._" She watched him, cheek red from his hand.

"Because it's the truth." Sasuke swayed but caught his balance. When he'd killed Orochimaru and absorbed his power, his healing abilities had increased tenfold. But ever since Itachi had sealed the Sannin away out of him, it was taking even longer to recover again, and he hated that.

With glee Sakura saw his guard dropping, his answers losing that solid, overly confident edge. He was sounding just a bit like the old, indifferent Sasuke. "Your excuses and covers are just getting flimsier, Sasuke," she declared. "Say it! You hate the vengeful path you're on and miss what you had! Say it!" Sakura sat up straighter as she urged.

"I'll kill you if you don't shut up."

"Go ahead and try it. You know what I'm saying is true!" Sakura challenged, standing now as well. "Don't you remember, Sasuke? All the good times we had as a squad? Weren't you _happy? _Don't you want to go back to that? You still can, Sasuke!" Her voice held a note of excitement.

"I was never happy," Sasuke snarled.

"Closer to it than you are now, I'd wager!" Sakura's eyes flashed. "Did sealing Orochimaru inside you, killing Itachi, make you _happy? _Are you satisfied with your life as it is now, Sasuke?" She squeezed her eyes shut and yelled, tears flying. "Well, are you?"

"I can never be satisfied because there is always more power to obtain," he said flatly, turning his face away.

"That's a stupid way to live," Sakura countered harshly. "Who's gonna care when it's all said and done anyway, about how much power Sasuke Uchiha had?" She glowered. "I bet your parents never wanted you to become like this. You're tarnishing their memory, a disgrace to the name of the Uchiha clan!"

Inwardly, Sasuke was jarred by that comment but didn't show it. He remembered being so eager to please his father in the shadow of Itachi. "_What _Uchiha clan?" His voice rose to a beligerent shout.

"The one you used to belong to! Your loved ones that Itachi killed! Are you going to let his horrible act define you? Is this how you want people to remember the Uchiha name, by your malicious life?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her, something in them Sakura couldn't quite decipher. "You can't change me, Sakura," he said evenly. "You're wasting your time."

Sakura set her jaw and lifted her chin, staring at him defiantly. Her lower lip slightly quivered. She stood shock still as he brushed past her uncaringly to return to battle, turning to watch him with teary eyes. She watched his back, saw the Uchiha symbol insignia on it. He still had to care _some, _didn't he? He couldn't be as uncaring as he let on, or he wouldn't wear that around. He still remembered his clan. _Sasuke.._

Sakura seemed rooted to the spot as he walked away from her without looking back. Something welled up inside her. _No! I can't lose him again! I can't let it go down like this!_ She watched as he seemed to move farther and farther away from her. _**Not again. **_Acting on impulse, almost unaware of what she was doing, Sakura ran up behind him, her footsteps swift, and spread her arms around him, stopping him in his tracks. She pulled him close to her, tears streaming down her face.

The act sent a memory flashing through both their minds: in the Chunin Exams, when he'd begun to conform to the Cursed Seal of Heaven..Sakura had been the one thing to bring him back to normal with a hug from behind. She knew it wouldn't be the same case here.. but she couldn't help hoping.

In that one instant, with that thought, the realization shook Sakura: she _did _still hope. She hadn't given up all hope on Sasuke.. and would never do so. As long as she loved him..she couldn't give up on him.

Sasuke froze, tensed. "What are you doing? Let go of me." The undertone of his voice was furious and meant business.

"No." She knew he knew he could easily kill her at this point, or she him. Sakura tightened her grip, choking on a sob.

In one swift movement, yet it seemed to go in slow motion for Sakura, Sasuke pried her off and grabbed her arm, pressing her against a tree. In his other hand was a kunai which he swiftly brought to her throat. His face was devoid of emotion.

Sakura swallowed hard, a fleeting look of panic crossing her face. Her eyes were wide, cheeks flushed, as she watched him. _Sasuke..don't do this.._ Her throat was too closed up to voice the thought.

Sasuke pressed the blade closer, watching a line of blood trickle down. Sakura grabbed the hand holding the kunai with her free one, fingers locked around the wrist in a feeble attempt to ward him off. She knew she could easily break free under normal circumstances, but this was Sasuke. He was more powerful than any foe she'd ever faced, and she loved him. Looking in the face of the one she thought about most, she couldn't bring herself to break away. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't move an inch.

Sakura didn't expect him to speak, but speak he did. His eyes narrowed, Sasuke demanded, "Why?"

Sakura's eyes, which were trying to hide her fear, searched his. "Why what?" Her voice unintentionally dropped.

Sasuke's intense black eyes bored into hers. "Why didn't you give up on me a long time ago?"

Sakura's hand was trembling. "..I've tried to.. many times. But I just can't." If he was going to finish her off, she might as well end off on an honest note. "..I still love you, Sasuke." Her eyes filled.

"No, you don't. Quit fooling yourself." Sasuke's voice was hard and curt. _How could she? _He was a rogue shinobi.

"Don't act like you can read everyone, Sasuke. A girl knows her own feelings." Sakura squeezed her eyes shut, heart pounding in her chest. Her voice was small. "..If you're going to kill me, make it quick." That was all she asked. It was a fateful death, though, to be killed at the hands of your lover.

She expected to be met with a quick death. She never expected what happened next.

In that one moment, Sasuke's eyes cleared. With a soft thud the kunai hit the dirt. Still pinning her to the tree, he pressed his lips to hers fiercely.

Sakura's eyes snapped open, widening. She gave a sharp intake of breath in surprise, unable to believe or comprehend what was happening. _Sasuke.. _Finally reacting, she closed her eyes and returned the kiss, tears falling. _You __**do **__care!_

His fingers dug into her arms, saying everything he couldn't through the kiss. Within a couple of moments he was gone, leaving only cold air to meet her lips. Sakura opened her eyes slowly, disappointment flooding her as the moment of bliss passed, leaving her wondering if it had actually happened at all. She ran her fingers over her lips, eyes shimmering. _Sasuke.._

Ever so slowly, Sakura's features set in a hard look of determination. "You _will _come back one day," she thought aloud, more certain than ever of it. He had to. "I just know it." She smiled to herself and departed, oblivious to his nearby presence, where he'd been watching from his vantage point in a tree.

Her voice, everything she'd told him, reverberated in his head.

_I still love you, Sasuke._

In that instant, Sasuke almost smiled.

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><p><strong>AN:..Hm. *not sure what to make of it* Honestly? I think I failed. xDD I think the course and flow of this story was rushed and choppy, but oh well, it was still fun to write anyway. x33 Isn't this how all us SasuSaku fans want it to turn out? xDDD Anyway, this was more for fun than anything. Please don't hesitate to give us honest feedback, we'd really appreciate it! Thank y'all for reading, please review! :D **


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